The incidents of receiving the Holy Spirit are clearly recorded in the Bible. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, he/she will speak in tongues. During the apostolic times, it was something they could see and hear. It isn’t based on human feelings, but rather there’s a clear sign the Spirit of God is in a person. It is also the only criteria the apostles used to determine whether a person had received the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us the words of God are true. From a few thousands years ago to now, the spirit of God has led this work. The Bible also mentions about the Spirit of truth, which tells us that both the truth and Holy Spirit cannot be separated. Therefore the truth we understand about the Holy Spirit today cannot and should not change.

The speaker would like to share a testimony: I was not a Christian in the past. But when I came to the True Jesus Church, I saw the abidance of the Holy Spirit in church. I observed that when a person received the Holy Spirit, he would speak in tongues. During the time I was seeking the truth, I experienced the moving of the Holy Spirit and later on received the Holy Spirit displayed by the speaking of tongues. I had a lot of doubts at that time. I asked a friend who was also a Christian, “What is the Holy Spirit?” My friend replied, “It’s recorded in the Bible but I’m not sure.” After coming to the True Jesus Church and studying the Bible there, I understood that what I experienced was experienced before by Christians 2000 years ago. They had received the promised Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

Today, in the Christian world, we see that everyone has their own perspective about the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. Since we all believe Jesus Christ is our Saviour, we should believe the only truth given by our Lord. Therefore, we will study from the Bible. In the midst of so many different ideas and perspectives of what the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is, what does the Bible say?

We will consider 5 propositions of what has been said to be evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit:

1. Once a person believes in Christ, he/she will have received the Holy Spirit Acts 19:2 When Paul came to Ephesus, he met a few disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?” Their reply to him was, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

Here clearly tells us when one believes in Christ, it doesn’t mean he has received the Holy Spirit. From the many different perspectives, we need to see which is from the Bible. If it is the case that a person receives the Holy Spirit when believing in Christ, why did the disciples reply Paul that they had not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit? This is puzzling. Furthermore, if a person receives the Holy Spirit after believing, Paul wouldn’t have needed to even ask this question either.

How was Paul able to determine whether they had received the Holy Spirit? Let’s not talk about Paul, even the disciples themselves did not know if they had received the Holy Spirit.

Some people may say that these disciples had only received the baptism of John and not of Jesus. Hence, their understanding of the faith was not complete, and they would therefore not have received the Holy Spirit.

But is that true?

Acts 8:1-4 The church in Jerusalem was undergoing persecution. The apostles hence dispersed. v5 says Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. Note that the gospel here was about Christ. v6 “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” In v9-13, a man named Simon who practised sorcery believed as well after seeing this. Philip preached the gospel of Christ (v6), and the people in Samaria (v12) and Simon the sorcerer believed (v13). But they did not receive the Holy Spirit. v14-17 in the Bible records the Holy Spirit had yet to come down on them. Therefore, we can conclude these people, despite having believed in Christ, had yet to receive the Holy Spirit.

If we were to go back to Acts 19 and say the reason the disciples didn’t receive the Holy Spirit was because they believed in John and not Jesus Christ, consider how the people in Samaria had believed in Christ but still did not receive the Holy Spirit.

Whether it was believing in John or Jesus Christ, the people had yet to receive the Holy Spirit, nor was there the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit.

1. Miracles, signs and wonders indicates having received the Holy Spirit Acts 8:7 Philip was able to perform signs, wonders and miracles, and also preached Christ. The people in Samaria believed in the gospel of Christ, and were healed. But we have to realise there were two different phenomenons here. Simon the sorcerer astonished the people in Samaira for a long time (v9). But the people of Samaria were more than astonished when they witnessed what Philip had done. One thing we can draw out from this is that one may perform miracles, but the power may not come from God. Even Simon the sorcerer was able to astonish men. But the power of God subdued the power of the evil one. However, we have yet to see the Holy Spirit descending on them. Therefore we can draw a conclusion that there may be signs, wonders and miracles, but that doesn’t imply the presence of the Holy Spirit. The presence of God through miracles, signs and wonders is to help people understand the truth; to help people believe; to guide people to understand the Holy Spirit. Although Philip had preached the truth and performed signs, wonders and miracles, and the people in Samaria had believed as well, the Bible clearly records that the Holy Spirit had not descended upon them. Therefore we can see that although signs, wonders and miracles followed during the apostolic times, the downpouring of the Holy Spirit is according to God’s time. We hence have to understand we have to look at the teachings of the Bible, otherwise we will assume signs, wonders and miracles means having the Holy Spirit. Not every miracle witness comes from God. Sometimes it could be the case like Simon who was able to perform miracles and people assume it’s from God. We hence cannot determine a person has received the Holy Spirit based on miracles, signs and wonders.

2. A person receives the Holy Spirit after baptism Acts 8:12-13 People in Samaria who believed in Christ were baptised as well. But the Holy Spirit had yet to descend on them. v14-15 tell us that at that time, when the apostles who were in Jerusalem heard how the people in Samaria had received the word of God, Peter and John were sent to them for the purpose of praying for them to receive the Holy Spirit. It is hence clear that a person who receives baptism does not automatically receive the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:5 We return to the disciples at Ephesus. After Paul had baptised them, he still had to lay hands on them because the Holy Spirit had yet to descend upon them (v5-6).

What are the signs of receiving the Holy Spirit? The sign was speaking in tongues (v6). Therefore, the Bible clearly points out: Whether it was the believers in Samaria, or the believers in Ephesus; although they had believed in Jesus Christ and had been baptised in the name of Jesus; although there was the accompaniment of signs, wonders and miracles; they still had yet to receive the Holy Spirit.

1. Receiving the Holy Spirit is evidenced by great joy “After believing in Christ, I feel great joy. That means I have received the Holy Spirit. After believing in Jesus, I no longer have depression. This must be the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit, otherwise why am I so happy?”

Acts 8:7-8 The sick were healed, demons were cast out. There was great joy in the city! According to the sequence of events in this chapter, the people had not received the Holy Spirit at this point in time yet. Why then were they so joyful? Because those who were sick and demon possessed were healed! The words of the Lord are powerful and give hope. Of course having received the gospel of truth causes joy. But this isn’t evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.

1. Receiving the Holy Spirit is evidence by great acts of love Acts 10:2 A gentile by the name of Cornelius was a devout man who loved God and men. According to the Bible, he feared God, gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. But when we read on in the chapter, we realise he had yet to receive the Holy Spirit. Actually, people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ also have great love for others. But we would not draw the conclusion that they have received the Holy Spirit. Of course we hope they will receive the Holy Spirit, but the Bible clearly tells us the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. The Bible is very clear about this. We hence cannot use the benchmark of a person having love to determine if he/she has received the Holy Spirit.

What is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit then? How then do we know what is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit? We see that those who believed in Christ didn’t receive the Holy Spirit immediately.

Acts 8:17-19 The believers received the Holy Spirit after the apostles laid hand upon them. The people in Samaria and Ephesus were the same. There was a common phenomenon for both of them: receiving the Holy Spirit is something that can be observed. What can be observed? In Acts 19:6, the disciples could be heard to have spoken with tongues. And in Acts 8, Simon the sorcerer SAW this phenomenon as well and offered money to buy this power from the apostles. Simon clearly heard and saw what happened, this was why he was willing to offer money to buy this power. But he had the wrong concept.

We have discussed different propositions of evidence of having received the Holy Spirit:

1. One can believe in Christ but not have received the Holy Spirit
2. Signs, miracles and wonders may follow but on that doesn’t mean one has received the Holy Spirit
3. Those who have been baptised doesn’t mean they have received the Holy Spirit
4. Those full of joy doesn’t mean they have received the Holy Spirit
5. Those who have love doesn’t mean they have received the Holy Spirit

Acts 2:38-39 Peter told the Jews who were keeping the Passover to repent and be baptised, and they shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before this we can see the disciples gathered together to pray, and the Holy Spirit descended (v1-4). The Bible describes that there was a loud roaring from heaven. They began to speak in a language they didn’t understand. This is the first phenomenon of the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit. It was something people were able to SEE. What’s more important is that this teaching doesn’t come from Peter, but from the commandment of Jesus Christ. After the resurrection of Jesus, before He ascended to heaven, He told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promised Holy Spirit from the Father (v4-8). Peter followed through these commandments of Jesus and stayed there to pray. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and during that time, many people SAW this phenomenon. Their understanding/faith was hence based on the teachings and commandments of Jesus.

Mark 16:15-17 Before Jesus ascended to heaven He told the disciples those who repent and believe will be saved. Signs, wonders and miracles would follow. They would have the power to cast demons out in the name of the Lord, and they would speak in tongues as well.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is hence a miracle and also a SIGN. When one receives the Holy Spirit, he/she should know. We hence see that John tells us in 1 John 3:24 that “he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him”. We know He abides in us because He has given us the Holy Spirit. There were people during the time of the Pentecost who didn’t believe but still saw this sign; this proves Jesus kept His promise. What’s important is that one has to ASK for the Holy Spirit. The disciples heeded the command of Jesus and didn’t leave Jerusalem but gathered there and prayed. Acts 1:5 shows that this command was given by Jesus before He ascended to heaven.

Actually even before the Lord Jesus was nailed on the cross, He already told this to the disciples in Luke 11:11-13. Jesus used the human relationship between a son and father to display the need to ask for the Holy Spirit.

In John 4, the Lord Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman and discussed living water which actually referred to the Holy Spirit (v10). This is evidenced by how Jesus mentions about living water when He spoke concerning the Holy Spirit in John 7.

John 7:37-39 The Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Before the Lord Jesus was nailed on the cross, He had already told the disciples. In the phenomenon during the Pentecost, the disciples began to speak in tongues. Therefore, the ONLY evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, and one can SEE and HEAR it. It’s not a feeling. It’s not other reasons either. Believing, being baptised, having joy, having love, signs, miracles and wonder are all not evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.

Speaking in tongues as the only evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is important because without this evidence, Rom 8:9 tells us that one does not have the spirit of Christ. The consequence of that is not being His. “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

During the apostolic times, people saw the apostles praying and assumed they were drunk (Acts 2:5-13). But Peter stood up and explained to them this was the gift of receiving the Holy Spirit and the evidence was speaking in tongues.

Some people misunderstand the Bible, for example, when quoting 1 Cor 12 and 14: The gift of the Holy Spirit Peter said the people would receive in Acts 2:38 is singular; in Greek it is ‘dorea’. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in John 4:10 about the gift of God, it was singular as well - ‘dorea’.

But the word used to describe the gifts in 1 Cor 12 and 14 is different from the word gift in Acts 2:38 and John 4:10. The word gifts in 1 Cor 12 and 14 is plural and in Greek it is ‘charismata’. Firstly, the Holy Spirit Himself is a gift (dorea). Secondly, there are many different gifts (charismata) of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit is the giver.

We have to be very clear when studying 1 Cor 12 and 14 that the gifts mentioned is charismata, which is different from the gift (dorea) mentioned in Acts 2:38 that is promised by the Lord Jesus. We have to be very clear that the Holy Spirit is the gift (dorea) in Acts 2:38, but the Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts (charismata) in 1 Cor 12 and 14.

Let us examine the difference: In 1 Cor 12:10, gifts (charismata) of different kinds of tongues from the Holy Spirit are only given to a FEW people. But the gift (dorea) of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues is given to EVERYONE. The church of Corinth had the gift of speaking sermons in tongues. Only a FEW had this gift. God would also give another person the gift of interpreting tongues (1 Cor 12:10). Speaking a sermon in tongues and praying in tongues are different. The former is OCCASIONAL, while the latter ALWAYS occurs. To prophesy in tongues is to edify the church, but speaking in tongues is to edify oneself. Speaking a sermon in tongues in church must be interpreted so people can understand the message (1 Cor 14:27). But the promised Holy Spirit that enables us to speak in tongues is given to us so we can pray to God. The leaders in the church in Corinth highly esteemed the speaking of sermons in tongues so it became chaotic. Paul exhorted those who received the gift from the Holy Spirit to prophesy in tongues should do so in an orderly manner; it shouldn’t be chaotic. We have to understand Paul isn’t saying these gifts are not important. Neither is he saying some of these gifts are more superior/inferior. Rather, Paul wanted to address the issue of disorderliness. This means: If you speak a sermon in tongues but no one translates it, people would not understand what you’re trying to say and you would not be able to edify others. Wouldn’t it be better to speak a sermon in plain words where people can understand and be edified? (1 Cor 14:1-5) It’s never the instance Paul says these gifts are not important. He doesn’t despise them. But if there was no one to interpret the prophecy by tongues, then they didn’t have to speak the prophecy/revelations by God in tongues. Instead, they should just pray in tongues to God (1 Cor 14:2). Paul doesn’t say to restrict that.

Because of 1 Cor 12 and 14, some deduce that from henceforth we don’t need to speak in tongues. However, we referred to verses in the Bible just now and understood the only evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. May God open our hearts that we may be able to understand it.

For more details, please refer to the document in this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSCdJWuIP5ILsfmv9fJxyzwe5iGTKYk-/view?usp=sharing